A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words
by Angel Tifa
Summary: An observation by a sister to a brother and the realizations that soon follow. This is a one-shot fanfic. but it's really meant to be that way, please read and review if you'd like!


**A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words**

This is a one shot fic. very short so don't be mad ^^; 

_Days, weeks, months pass at each corner   
Neither one conceiving the idea of loss_

He had just come home from another day of school, exhausted, more so his expressions were not changing like they once were. He heaved a sigh and looked for a place to rest his weary body. Things were different now and the atmosphere left by the passing tears and episodes of anger would effect everyone just not one person. 

"Yuuhi!?" a young woman in her late twenties with short black hair peered around the corner of the main quarter walls to call out to her brother in law. She had heard him come in earlier but no answer followed the call. 

"Hm…Yuuhi?" she sighed a little and got up to see why he did not respond to her calls. Slowly walking through the beautifully made sliding doors and went straight for his room. She stopped and tried feeling if his presence was in the room. She knocked slightly on the walls around her and asked again. 

"Yuuhi are you there?" she didn't scream but softly mentioned. 

"Hai..hai.." he mumbled under a bunch of sheets, laziness came mind to Suzumi. She smirked to herself then thought of her brother's lack of interest. 

"Feeling any better?" she spoke directly through the doors waiting for an answer. Suzumi had wanted to get Yuuhi out of the house for anything; she figured the "fresh" air of the world would enlighten his sense. However every time as of late, she tried he came home from school with fevers or just a lack of interest. 

"Huh?" 

_At each second of each waking hour  
Although there are pains and truths left buried within one  
Not everyone can comprehend   
The way the glass structure was so delicately built upon._

The response was not exactly what she wanted what she took it anyway. Things were different since the time she had left their lives. More than even Yuuhi let out and truth be told it affected herself as well. More so it was a growing concern on her brother's sake that this quite possibly might be the reason for lack of interest. The notions that he had become more silent again implied reasons for this, a regression back to when she first knew this child. 

_What's wrong with you…_Her mind had come to a conclusion to watch over her brother well. As the past weeks she had done so and not stressed the importance of things that didn't quite count as important. 

_Then time has a way of crawling back   
Begging to be heard again and tearing down your wall  
The place you solely were left to defend your promise  
You gave in and it crumbled and your words flooded_

"Nothing…maybe you should just get some sleep?" Suzumi had implied more so than suggesting moving rather swiftly into his room to get a closer look, a picture of a boy who looked nothing more than tired and without motivation seemed still like a picture of a boy emerged in sadness and regret. 

"You look pale." 

"Nee-san…" Yuuhi had shrugged off any notions of being sick in these weeks past. Instead he played it off as being lazy or that his sister was merely just annoying the hell out of him. 

"Well if you're not going to listen to me---" she felt the urge to egg him on and to make him listen to her but she knew it would just bring more silence floating around. She heaved a sigh then moved forward to try and place her hand on his head. 

_You're heart sank  
And you became the enemy to yourself  
You leveled  
And you beat yourself down_

"Please just let me sleep," he nonchalantly begged her before she could completely touch his head. Suzumi jerked her hand back as if a reaction to something painful or unpleasant and willingly stepped away. She searched for the right words to ask him looking down at the wooden floor as if they had the answers written on them. _Should I ask him about dinner…will he want to make it? Should I say something comforting…or should I just leave him alone…?_

"Hai…" were the only words she could conjure up in those few seconds. She was a woman of few words herself in these situations and when it came to her brother things such as this never gave her much inspiration to give big speeches or bring evasive actions to it. She observed, and observed well, watching over her brother, her lover's brother, the only one left in her life to care for. The only thing left for her to do was continue her daily routine; she could never make him confess. 

_Your own infiltration was the sign of your loss  
Years pass and not one would ever question  
How one could loose the last sense of dignity_

Suzumi moved further and further away from his room, hearing minor shuffles and noises. Without consciousness she bent down to pick up pieces of clothing left on the floors and gathering them in her arms she walked back to her room to put them into a basket so she could do her responsibilities. Looking faintly out the window she saw the sun disappear into the mists of the clouds, 

"A storm…" she mumbled to herself and closed her eyes still wondering. 

Suzumi began heading towards Yuuhi's room once more to check on him. Seconds later rain began to fall on the outside she heard then hit the windows, she stopped at that second and saw something on the floor below her brother's arm that made her eyes focus. 

"Hm?" 

_But it's merely time never fate  
No one else to blame no excuses left_

She placed down her responsibilities for just that moment and moved to his room and picked up the picture that lay on the floor alone. Staring at it she then looked at her brothers face and saw a single tear on his sleeping eye. 

_The conception of the one lost would once again  
Be rekindled and would be your confession left standing_

She felt her heart skip a beat when she came to the realization of how she and her brother were not that different and maybe, in the hardest way, this was just more thing, perhaps the most, that brought that even closer. She silently cried as she thought _because you really did love Chidori…_

1/14/04 

**End Notes/Spoilers:**

**Author's Notes**: Ahh, yes for those who aren't too sure, the whole idea of this was to show that Yuuhi always carried around a picture of Chidori after she died and Suzumi just happened to discover this one-day. And he does indeed carry around with him a picture of her (which is revealed in the Episodes of Miku, the manga sequel to the series). That notion seriously always made me cry. I think it's quite obvious that after she died he became more silent but this really is supposed to take place quite recently after her death so I'm not implying he was like this all the time or something lol. And in my opinion Yuuhi really did love her, it just was a late realization, so if you don't agree with me, don't kill me ^o^ 

I also wanted to make this fic. for the sake of the relationship between Suzumi and Yuuhi which I also think is wonderful because even though they aren't blood related they are very close to each other as brother and sister. All things written were by me, as well as the little poem between the paragraphs. I do not own Ayashi no Ceres and it's characters, the wonderful and amazing Watase Yuu-sensei does. Ah well thank you for reading if you did =) 


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